The names of the
Native wives are presented as they were recorded; their surnames reflect the
name of the band or tribe from which they came.

A comprehensive
site directory can be found further down this
page.

Why "The Children of Fort
Langley"?

Every so often a visitor to the Fort Langley National
Historic Site of Canada will ask a staff member, "Do you have any information
on my ancestor?" -- or -- "Is there an association or group related to the
descendants of the men of Fort Langley?"

In the past, the most common answer was, "Unfortunately we
don't" -- though in all fairness it should be noted that Fort Langley was
burnt to the ground in 1840, and many of the fort's records have been lost.
However, on March 22, 2000, there was a new answer:

"Check with The Children of Fort
Langley."

With the help and kind permission of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives, we are
collecting and sharing genealogical information on Fort Langley's employees,
much of which is courtesy of the Hudson's Bay Company Archives (we couldn't do
this without you, guys. Much thanks!). Copies of your ancestor's
employment record -- and any other information they may have -- can be ordered
from the HBCA, through their web site or via
email at
hbca@gov.mb.ca.Provide as much info as you can
and please bear in mind that any vital information on your ancestor's employee
record is only as accurate as your ancestor gave it when he signed
on.

Information that isn't held by the Hudson's Bay Company
Archives, or other credited sources, is the property of the descendants of the
employees. Just as we make every effort to quote our sources, please
quote yours -- and make a note of who complied any information that you find
useful. And if you have information we don't, please think about sharing
and helping our circle grow.

As our research progresses, we are finding that more and
more of the men become related to each other through the marriage of their
Fort Langley-born children -- besides those who were related to each other
before they arrived at Fort Langley. If you are a descendent and we
haven't heard from you yet, we'd like to hear your story. It might lead
to finding that crucial missing link in your genealogy research . . . and new
cousins.

The Children of Fort Langley exists to honor the past by
sharing genealogical information in hopes of adding flesh and blood to the
bones and ligaments of the journals and documents left behind by the prominent
men of Fort Langley. Help us preserve the
past.

What does Fort Langley's family tree look
like?

We know what the fort itself looked like in 1828 from a
description written by Archibald McDonald. We have a little
info on the expeditions that led to the
founding of Fort Langley. And we know that Fort Langley was the birth
place of British Columbia, but where are the descendants of those history
makers? We, as the descendants of those men -- and their women -- are a
living part of that history. Were it not for Fort Langley, we would not
exist -- at least not as the people we are now.

Who were the men who worked at Fort
Langley?

Between 1827 and 1895 approximately 108
men worked at Fort Langley. Though it
doesn't say on the list of the
original twenty-five men, many of these men did
the heavy grunt work necessary for creating a place to live and work in the
wilderness.

"Wilderness" is a subjective
term.

The area around Fort Langley -- from the local point of
view --was not "wilderness".

For some, it was their summer home, for others it was their
winter home, for yet others it was rich hunting and fishing territory, and
used as such for many many generations. The Fort Langley Journal lists
the different Nations, some of whom
were friends, some of whom were trading allies, and others who were enemies,
and it was from among the friends and trading allies that the men of Fort
Langley took their wives -- particularly the Kwantlen Nation, who moved up
next to the fort for the protection it offered them from their more assertive
neighbors.

According to the available information, no wives
accompanied the first twenty-five men. In the first couple years the men
fraternized with the local women in a nonchalant -- and noncommittal --
fashion. However, when Archibald MacDonald arrived to take charge in
October of 1828, he changed this, insisting that the men make some sort of
commitment to the women they associated with and sent a report back to HBC
headquarters detailing the changes he made, including a
list of the current employees and their families.

However, after the fashion of the era, the record keepers
were more concerned with keeping track of the men. The names of their
wives were not as diligently recorded. Some names were recorded in
parish records, some were not. Some were passed down through the
generations, often as only a single name, while the identities of just as many
more of these women were lost to Time. However, without the women, there
would be no descendants.

Who were the women?

Because the women were an integral part of of creating
descendants, we are striving to identify all of the wives beyond that most
common and cryptic notation "A Native Woman". It isn't easy.

During the 1800s and into well into the 1900s, there was
social stigma attached to anyone with Native ancestry. A prime example
of the sentiment of the time is contained in a letter found at the BC Archives
(MS 0182 - Yale or Reel # A01658). It's referenced as 'no 11,' a
letter to James Murray Yale from a friend, Mary Julia Mechtler. On page
2, she writes: (GRIT YOUR TEETH BEFORE READING!And as you grit those teeth, please be aware that The
Children of Fort Langley do not in any way shape or form agree with Ms
Mechtler.)

"Continue to keep your good
resolutions of not taking an Indian wife, on account of yourself as well as
of the dreadful fate that generally awaits the Bois Brule offspring of such
a connection. Reflect what every man owes himself. What apology
can a white man make to his children for mixing and polluting his pure blood
with that of a savage. How dare such a person pretend to principle and
feeling! Fie upon him for a selfish monster! I hope, my dear
James, you will never have such a reproach to make to your
conscience."

We know that Yale did NOT heed her advice, though he
was a troubled man. Perhaps her words ringing in his ears made him
so. Little did Mary Julia Mechtler know that her heavily written and
passionate words would help us understand why some of our parents' and
grandparents' generations tried so hard to keep their native heritage a
secret.

So, what do you do if you find that one -- or more -- of
your ancestors was a woman from one of the many First Nations bands in the
Fort Langley area?

Two words:
Alice Marwood

Alice is a consultant for the Sto:lo Nation,
and she says:

The Sto:lo Nation Family Tree contains well
over 17,700 names and is continually growing.If
you want a family tree you don't have to start from scratch, it is probable
that many of your family are all ready entered.The tree has been documented from family knowledge collected
over many years, from church records, census records, band lists, obituaries,
published sources, etc.

There is no charge for Sto:lo Nation
members, non members are charged $25.00 per hour.

Many of the Fort Langley descendents are
included in their family tree database, so the missing piece to your family
puzzle could be in the Sto:olo family tree database.

Now, it should be noted that not all of the wives were
from the Fort Langley area -- a few were from around the Fort Vancouver/mouth
of the Columbia River in what is now southern Washington state and northern
Oregon, a few from other forts scattered throughout the Hudson's Bay Company's
network of fur posts -- but enough were from the area adjacent to Fort Langley
that Alice's services could prove to be invaluable to some of us.(Thank you, Alice.)

For those of you who haven't introduced
yourselves yet, drop us a line and let
us know who you are.Let's see just how many of
us we can get together this year.The dates in
August 2002 are Saturday the the 3rd, Sunday the 4th, and Monday the
5th.

If you'd like to see if any of your British
Columbian ancestors worked at Fort Langley, please check out the Employees'
page by >clicking here<, as
well as the list of the First 25 by >clicking here<.

The only cost involved for the Descendant's
Reunion during Brigade Days will be daily admission.The cost is nominal, only $4 for adults, $3 for seniors over
65, $2 for youth aged 6-16, and free for children 5 and under, for each day
you attend. (We'll try to keep the
admission info up-to-date, but just to be sure, check the fort's web
site.)

Fort Langley Brigade is held every year
during the first weekend in August.To see how
the 2001 descendants' reunion went, >click here<.

Please note: Though
out-of-print, The Langley Story
Illustrated is a copyrighted work and is presented here
by special permission from the author in the hopes of correcting inaccuracies
present in the 1977 edition. Contact info for Mr. Waite can
be found on the front page of this html version of The Langley
Story Illustrated.

The Comprehensive Site Directory

Contact Information:If we have information on any
of the Hudson's Bay Company men and/or their wives, there will be a link on
his name.Just click on his name and you will be
taken to his individual page.This is where we
have the contact information; if there is no contact person, we probably don't
have one -- yet -- but you never know.Don't be
afraid to ask questions.

PLEASE NOTE:Information presented on any
of these pages is the property of the person who sent it in unless
otherwise specified; any instance of copyright infringement is
unintentional.In the case of copyright infringement, please
notify the
webmistress.Thank
you.

If you do not see underlined text in the below
directory, simply click on the first word in each paragraph to go to the
described page.

HomeComing 2001: You've read about it, now see it. The first reunion
of The Children of Fort Langley, held on the 4, 5 and 6 of August
2001, was -- according to those who attended -- a whole lot of
fun.

The Local Folks
(First Nations and Native American): the different Nations shows a
portion of McDonald's Report To The Governor and Council, 25
February 1830, in which Archibald describes the local folks
who interacted with Fort Langley and the names that were used then to
designate. We hope to one day present their sides of the Fort
Langley story here.

The Employees:108 men takes you to the list of
employees who worked at Fort Langley between 1827 and 1895, as was
compiled by BC historian Bruce Watson. Information includes place of
origin (if known), position, and years of employment. Surnames are
presented as they came from the Hudson's Bay Company
archives.

Period Clothing 101Ever wonder how those reenactors and
historically dressed interpretive guides know how to dress? Want to
put together a period correct wardrobe? Interested in getting into
period reenactment? Period Clothing 101 gets you pointed in the
right direction. Links to resource sites.

Queries: There have
been queries left in our Journal that, while not being connected with
anyone at Fort Langley, are connected to the Fur
Trade. Check out our Queries page to
find out who they are.

The Fort: little info Takes you to a
page that talks about the events leading up to the founding of Fort
Langley: the 42 man party who set out from Fort Vancouver in November of
1824 to explore the Puget Sound and Fraser River, and how that expedition
led to the founding of Fort Langley.

Recommended Reading, References, and Links: When you click on
added here, you'll find book
titles and reference material that many of us have used in our
genealogical research, along with links to some other forts in Canada and
the US. Additions to this list are heartily welcome and
encouraged.

Fur
Trade Fort Links: Fort Vancouver was
the first, followed by Fort Langley, and many other fur trade forts along
the Pacific Slope. This contains links to the other fur forts in
what was once called The Columbia District, Oregon Territory, and/or
Washington Territory. Some of these forts have their own brigade
days celebrations, the details of which can be found on their web
sites.

Come learn about the pre-history of the Pacific Slope;
find out what isn't commonly known about our history.

If you know of a fur trade fort web site that isn't on
this page, drop us a line and let us
know.

One chapter of this book will be devoted to the
those Fort Langley folks who are buried in the old Pioneer Cemetery which
in on the grounds of St George's.Though the
cemetery records and fort journals from the pertinent time period that say
just who all is there have gone missing, Bob and Sheila are seeking help
in determining who is really there. If you can help let
us know.

If you have any
suggestions, drop us some emailor sign our journal (below) -- or do both.

If you have
information on any of these men and/or their wives
and/or families, that you believe will enhance this web site, please at least
think about sharing. There exists great potential
here; it's possible and even probable that through our combined efforts we can
paint the Fort Langley Family Tree with the bright bold colours in which it
was lived. At the very least we hope to present a balanced
history. Regretfully, we do not as of yet have
enough information about our female ancestors to give them their own
individual pages and the recognition they deserve but hope we would very much
like to some day.Now matter how you slice it,
you can not have descendants without women.

Most of the early women were either First Nations or Native
American. The majority of their living descendants are of mixed-blood,
many of whom know little to nothing about their foremothers. Sometimes a
name has been passed down, occasionally a rare photograph or two, and rarer
yet, who these women were before being given Christian names and European
clothing.

If you chose to share your family's story here, your
information will remain your information, and the only person given credit for
your work will be you. If you have information that we don't, please
consider sharing your information. Because official records from this
time period are so thin, we rely on descendants to help make this site grow
and make these pages as accurate as is possible.

Our web mistress has gotten a copy of the
Tanguay -- a book written by Father Cyprien Tanguay in the early 1800s,
showing births, marriages and deaths of Québec families from the early 1600s
through the late 1700s/early/1800s -- and is finding families that could be the
forbearers of some of the men.Not only is
there a lot of information to go through, it is well known by established
genealogists that the Tanguay contains some errors.However, when she is done, the findings will be presented
here.